A system for monitoring attentiveness of an operator, having a data acquisition unit and a control unit. The data acquisition unit is adapted to be worn by the operator, and includes a capacitive electrode configured to detect electrical activity induced by eye blinks of the operator, a converter circuit configured to process the detected electrical activity into a digital signal, and a wireless transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit the digital signal. The control unit is positioned remote from the data acquisition unit, and includes a wireless receiver configured to receive the digital signal from the wireless transmitter, and a control circuit communicatively coupled to the wireless receiver to receive the digital signal, and configured to identify a plurality of eye-closing events and a plurality of eye-opening events from the digital signal, and determine a state of attentiveness of the operator based on the identified eye-closing and eye-opening events.
